Because Cedar Falls has a very large number of students who are 18 years or older and in college, it is thought of as a college town. This has a major influence on local Cedar Falls lifestyle, entertainment, and culture in general. Life in Cedar Falls is very much tied to the academic calendar: when students return from the summer break in the fall, one will notice them out and about, buying groceries, out with friends, and generally getting re-acquainted with each other. In Cedar Falls people study hard and play hard, and there is ample opportunity to do both.
Cedar Falls, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
One of the benefits of Cedar Falls is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.55 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
The education level of Cedar Falls ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Cedar Falls, 49.14% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Cedar Falls in 2018 was $39,242, which is wealthy relative to Iowa, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $156,968 for a family of four. However, Cedar Falls contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Cedar Falls home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Cedar Falls residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Cedar Falls include German, Irish, English, Norwegian, and Italian.
The most common language spoken in Cedar Falls is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Urdu.
